The eagerily awaited announcement from the front office of the Rapid City Rush regarding the coaching vacancy left by Scott Burt arrived on Monday June 23rd 2025.
Dave Smith was announced as the new head coach and general manager of the Rapid City Rush hockey team proud ECHL affiliate of the Calgary Flames.
Smith, who most recently served as head coach at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute for the past eight seasons has 27 years of coaching experience within the NCAA division 1 level of college sports. His previous 12 years of coaching prior to Rensselaer were at Canisius College where he led the team to its first NCAA tournament appearance in 2013
Smith who brings the experience of coaching over 712 games was quoted as saying , “I can not wait to get started, I cannot wait to get moving , I cannot wait for the first practice, first game first community event, and to really feel the energy and pulse around Rapid City. I want a team that is really hard to play against, that sticks up for each other, that has pride in the logo they represent and is chasing trophies.
I think we can all agree that Dave Smith is a great fit for our Rapid City Rush. Let’s extend a warm welcome to coach Smith .
Go rush!
